Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker throws against the Texas Rangers in the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 13, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker throws against the Texas Rangers in the first inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, April 13, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)

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Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker stands on the mound in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers as he waits for Mariners pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre to arrive for a conference, Wednesday, April 13, 2016, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) less

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Taijuan Walker stands on the mound in the first inning of a baseball game against the Texas Rangers as he waits for Mariners pitching coach Mel Stottlemyre to arrive for a ... more

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Mariners' Taijuan Walker might finally be ready for his breakout season

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Taijuan Walker didn't pick up the win Wednesday afternoon. He didn't throw a complete game or put up crazy strikeout totals or touch 100 miles per hour on the radar gun. Statistically, the right-hander was exceptional but not spectacular.

His final line: Six innings, five hits, one earned run, four strikeouts and two walks. He threw 108 pitches, 74 for strikes.

He was in line to pick his first win of 2016 before reliever Joel Peralta gave up a solo homer to Delino DeShields in the eighth inning to tie the game at 2. The matinee went to extras, with Dae-Ho Lee snapping the Mariners' five-game losing streak with a pinch-hit, walk-off two-run homer off Rangers left-hander Jake Diekman. It was just the third pinch-hit walk-off homer in club history, as Lee turned on a 97-mile-per hour fastball and joined Kendrys Morales and Ken Phelps in the club's record book.

But it was Walker who garnered the most praise afterward from manager Scott Servais.

"He really did keep it together," Servais said. "He's growing up, maturing before our eyes here. He has a chance to have a big year for us. It took him a while. We didn't see the big fastball until real late when he kind of dug deep and got a little extra, which is nice to see."

Despite struggling with his command in the first, Walker escaped a bases-loaded jam by getting Ian Desmond to ground into a force out. His only blemish came in the third, when Adrian Beltre hit a weak single into right field, beating a shifted infield.

Otherwise, Walker played the part of an ace, harnessing a high pitch count through the first three innings to make it through the sixth. He also helped the Mariners avoid a winless homestand and improve to 3-6.

"That was one of the things I had to work through," he said of his pitch count. "I was able to get quick outs. The fourth, fifth and sixth innings, it kind of kept me in the game. I just have to kind of stay calm in those situations and just make pitches."

Facing Desmond again with two outs in the sixth, Walker threw a fastball that appeared to catch the outside corner, but home plate umpire Laz Diaz ruled it a "ball." After Walker induced a meek groundout from Desmond for the third out, he turned to Diaz and exchanged in a heated conversation as he walked off the mound.

It was more emotion than Walker has showed at the big-league level. And it came only hours after Servais said pre-game he hoped his players came out with more of an edge -- "piss and vinegar" was the phrase he used -- after looking mostly lifeless during a five-game losing streak.

"I just thought it was a pretty good pitch," Walker said. "I saw he was calling it and just, like I said, a lot of emotions. I really wanted that pitch. I got the out so that was it."

The 23-year-old credited his experience last season in the big leagues with helping him keep his poise Wednesday. It was his first full campaign in the majors, and he went a respectable 11-8 with a 4.56 ERA in 29 starts after he struggled through most of the first two months of the season. He struggled with his confidence, too, fearing he might be sent down to Triple-A.

This season seems different.

"I feel like having a whole year in the big leagues and going through ups and downs definitely helped me with situations like that where I needed to keep my cool and make pitches," he said. "I feel like I made pretty good pitches."